Runsewe Kicks Off Destination Culture Tourism With Nike Arts Gallery

The director general of the National Council of Arts & Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe has kicked off a destination marketing culture tourism strategy with the Nike Art Foundation & Art Gallery in Abuja, Nigeria.

Destination marketing strategy is the promotion of a physical space, site or edifice as a tourism destination with the aim of promoting the culture of the area, while contributing to the nation’s economy through the creation of jobs for Nigerians.  

Culture, Runsewe said cannot be separated from tourism. Rather, both work hand in hand. “The job of tourism is to promote and market the brand identity of the nation, and that brand is our culture.”

Congratulating the 80-year-old icon, Chief Dr Oyenike Monica Okundaye, he noted that rather than spend money in building five-room story building, or purchasing high-end cars for her personal pleasure as most people do, Okundaye invested hers in supporting the nation and telling positive stories of Nigeria. 

“This gallery will help improve our GDP. There are a lot of opportunities in the culture sector and Mama Nike has only untapped one of them. I am determined to change the story of Nigeria. If anybody has the element or the content like Mama Nike, we will give them all the support.”

Runsewe urged the media, the Federal Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) and the Nigerian Association of Tourism Operators (NATOP) to ensure that the Nike Art Foundation and Gallery in Abuja is their top destination spot for tourists in Nigeria.

Officially opened in March 28, 2023, the Nike Art Foundation and Gallery, Abuja, boasts an art gallery of about 2,000 artworks created by artists trained by the icon; a tie/dye and adire workshop, and a waste to wealth creative hub. There is also the research aspect of the newly commissioned gallery which Mama Nike said is totally dedicated to the Art of the Nation project. 

“The Art of the Nation Project is focused on what comes from the nation. When I came here (Abuja) in 1995, the Gwari women wore only wrappers without tops. But they are weavers who specialize in making the Akete hats. We are going to put that traditional craft on the runway and turn it into a fashion piece.”

A fifth generational artist in her family lineage, Okundaye turned to the tie/dye and adire craft passed onto her by her parents when her family couldn’t afford her university education. It was the Aso ofi weaving skill she learnt from her parents that took her to the United States in 1974, where she also taught the skill at Harvard University. 

In 1995, she trained 5000 Nigerian prostitutes in Italy, 3000 of whom today are independent, and the current printmakers of the Nike Art Gallery traditional fabrics. 

“If your mother trained you with money earned from selling akara balls, it falls on you to upgrade that akara to hamburger, to create jobs for yourself. A lot of people are looking for white collar jobs, but not all of us will have that. So, upgrade whatever skill you have and do part of what you learnt from your parents. Think positive. Be focused, and follow your heart. Also, don’t buy what you don’t need,” she advised Nigerian youths. 

Post the center’s opening in Abuja (since 1996), Dr Nike said reception has been positive, with lots of people registering their interest to learn both traditional and contemporary arts and craft. The Abuja space will further host a proposed Children’s Waste to Art Museum – to create decorative art pieces, and a Birthday Hut proposed by Runsewe, in addition to the letting of its vast space for event’s hosting. 

“In two years, the Abuja gallery will surpass that of Lagos, because we have resources here in Abuja. The Osun gallery opened in 1967, my first gallery helped Osun State secure the UNESCO Heritage title. Why not Abuja?”

Okundaye operates four art galleries across the country – the largest which is the Nike Art Gallery, in Lekki, Lagos; the Nike Arts Gallery & Workshop, the pioneer gallery opened in 1967; the Nike Weaving, Adire & Indigo Center, located at her state of birth, Kaba, Kogi State, and the Nike Art of the Nation Foundation & Gallery, Piwoyi, Abuja.